Member News

After nearly three years as managing editor, Sarah Weihert is leaving the Lake Mills Leader. A Lake Mills native and UW-Whitewater graduate, Weihert had served as an education reporter for the Watertown Daily Times prior to joining the Leader. She departs to start a new job in public relations with the city of Fort Atkinson.

Taking over the managing editor role will be Amber Gerber. Another UW-Whitewater graduate, Gerber has served as editor for The Courier for the last two years. It was her second stint with the newspaper, having held the same role from August 2007 to October 2011. She's also held positions at the Sun Prairie Star, the McFarland Thistle and The (Cottage Grove/Monona) Herald-Independent. 

Jessica VanEgeren has joined USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin as an Appleton-based local government and social justice/equity editor.

VanEgeren, whose first day was Monday, will be based out of The Post-Crescent newsroom. In her new role, she will serve as the primary editor of local government, justice and equity reporting for The Post-Crescent and the Green Bay Press-Gazette. She also is expected to partner with an editor at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel to lead a statewide team focused on justice and equity.

Ryan Gregory, an Indiana native with family ties to Wisconsin, has been named sports editor of the Sun Prairie Star, The (Waterloo/Marshall) Courier and the Cambridge News and Deerfield Independent.

Gregory earned his degree in sports journalism from Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis. While in college, he served as sports editor for The Campus Citizen student newspaper and worked in the sports department at The Indianapolis Star. 

Melissa Thorud is the Pierce County Journal's newest reporter, the Ellsworth newspaper announced Thursday.

A 2021 UW-River Falls graduate, Thorud earned her bachelor's degree in journalism with a minor in political science. While in college, Thorud reported for the Student Voice and served as editor of the newspaper for two years.

Jeff Robischon, a media industry veteran of more than 20 years, has been named general manager of the Ashland Daily Press.

Robischon fills the role vacated by James Moran, who left in April to lead advertising sales at The Chetek Alert. In addition to the Daily Press, Robischon will oversee the Price County Review in Phillips and the Northwoods Shopper.

A graduate of St. Cloud State University, Robischon's newspaper career started in Minnesota and eventually led him to Oregon. After earning his bachelor's degree in 1996, Robischon began selling advertising for a shopper in St. Cloud before joining the (Minneapolis) Star Tribune in 1998. He worked nine years for the newspaper, including a stint as sales manager. Most recently, Robischon served as student media advisor for Western Oregon University.

C.L. Sill has returned to the role of editor of The (Osceola) Sun.

Sill, who joined the newspaper in March 2020, had been serving in a marketing position for the Baldwin Bulletin as part of a pandemic-related shift in duties among Sentinel Publications newspapers. 

While Sill shifted to marketing, Jason Schulte and April Ziemer — editors in Baldwin and Amery, respectively — took over news editing and reporting in Osceola. With Sill’s return to Osceola, Schulte and Ziemer will return to their usual roles as well.

Pam Humpal has retired after 36 years as advertising manager of the Amery Free Press. A lifelong Amery resident, she joined the newspaper in March 1985.

During her time with the Free Press, Humpal wrote a weekly column, "Pounding the Pavement with Pam" — a tradition established by previous advertising managers.